Lucas Perez and Joel Campbell return to Deportivo and Real Betis on loan

Arsenal have confirmed two further departures on the final day of the summer transfer window after Lucas Perez and Joel Campbell returned to Deportivo La Coruna and Real Betis respectively, on loan. The Gunners have brought their deadline day departures to five amid the ignominious position of having failed to add to their squad on the last day of trading.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had previously departed for Liverpool in a deal worth £35m, Donyell Malen has moved to PSV Eindhoven for an undisclosed fee while Nigerian youngster Kelechi Nwakali is bound for Dutch side VVV-Venlo. But that is not the end of the stream of exits from north London.

Though Alexis Sanchez is staying put at Arsenal, two peripheral first team players have been offloaded. The highest profile of those is Perez, the Spanish striker who made just two Premier League starts last term, who has re-joined Deportivo for the rest of the season just 12 months on from swapping the Riazor for the Premier League.

Everton and Newcastle United were linked with a move for Perez, but the draw of returning to Spain with Deportivo where he scored 24 career goals in 59 appearances between 2014 and 2016 simply proved irresistible. Though the move has been confirmed by both clubs he will undergo a medical on Friday [1 September] before speaking to the media.

A brief Arsenal statement read: "We all wish Lucas well for his time with Deportivo this coming season."

Costa Rica international Campbell has joined Perez in leaving Arsenal, after Betis confirmed they has re-signed the 25-year-old on a season-long loan. The deal effectively signals the end of Campbell's stop-start career with the north Londoners, with his contract in England due to expire next summer.

Campbell played for the La Liga club during the 2012-13 campaign, making 33 appearances in all competitions scoring two goals and making three assists and he returns to the Benito Villamarin after spells at Olympiakos, Villarreal, Sporting Lisbon during the past three seasons. "We would like to wish Joel well for his time in Spain," an Arsenal statement added.

The deals bring an end to an otherwise frustrating final day in the transfer window. Arsenal have kept hold of contract rebel Sanchez after deeming there was not enough time to complete the signing of Monaco's Thomas Lemar despite a €100m fee being agreed. Manchester City had a bid accepted for the Chile international but the failure to line up a replacement scuppered the deal.